tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post488701784904622163..comments2017-09-03T17:00:50.972-05:00Comments on Antagony &amp; Ecstasy: THE ANGRY GREEN GIANTTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-6262082962659862272016-10-08T00:05:25.631-05:002016-10-08T00:05:25.631-05:00My Lord, not sure how but I completely forgot to e...My Lord, not sure how but I completely forgot to even mention Nick Nolte: he is by far the highlight of the cast, selling his character within an inch of his life. Fatalistic, idealistic, regretful, ambitious -- he does it all, just with ticks and inflection. Masterful work.Johnzilla 2179https://www.blogger.com/profile/03062232221655247960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-89449277393696468832016-10-08T00:02:15.373-05:002016-10-08T00:02:15.373-05:00I have to agree with this review, though I&#39;m m...I have to agree with this review, though I&#39;m more inclined to take a similar stance as Sssonic. I, personally, received this film on DVD as a birthday present back in 2003 (in fullscreen, which is bad enough on its own but with this film&#39;s visual aesthetic it was mind-numbing). I watched the film once with my sister and once with my father, neither time really caring much for it. While there were certainly scenes that stuck out, the whole thing just felt a bit leaden. However, as often happens, I acquired a desire to revisit the film years later, and having just finished my most recent screening just a few minutes ago I have to say that it&#39;s aged marvelously.<br /><br />Ever since seeing <i>Watchmen</i> and it&#39;s utterly boring straight page-to-screen &quot;adaptation&quot; of its source, I&#39;ve maintained that comic book films are best when an artist infuses their own creativity in to the material. The newer comic book films (specifically the MCU) aren&#39;t just poorer on the whole than the initial run because they&#39;re mass produced, they&#39;re also poorer because they&#39;re so basic and driven by an aesthetic that is 110% of the source material. Those that fancy themselves conservative when it comes to art may balk at the idea that adaptations are better when things are actually changed, but it really comes down to this: the filmmaker is usually not the original author, therefore they can never put the same spin on the material. Might as well make it their own. Ever since the MCU hit it big I&#39;ve seen a disturbing backlash against the older guard of comic book movies like Tim Burton&#39;s <i>Batman</i> and <i>X-Men</i>, chiefly because they changed things that weren&#39;t broken. But I&#39;d argue that they left more of a lasting impression. <i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i> is probably my favorite comic book movie of the last decade, only superseded by <i>X2</i>. These two films aren&#39;t just great action movies, they make you FEEL something. The same can be said of <i>Hulk</i>, and the reasoning is that Ang Lee and Bryan Singer choose to actively engage the material (and with that comes interpretation, which is different per individual) instead of vomit it onto the screen.<br /><br />Though I had trouble understanding his ultimate point, I appreciated Lee&#39;s take on the character of Hulk as legacy: Bruce&#39;s father&#39;s legacy for him, science&#39;s legacy for man, emotional legacy in terms of interpersonal relationship and also oneself, etc., and how those legacies are planted (hence the visual fixation on shrubbery and Bruce&#39;s mother tending her garden). And it may just be years of Syfy Channel nonsense rotting my brain, but I didn&#39;t really have an issue with the special effects in this movie. Sure, some shots are a tad unconvincing, but this Hulk still looked pretty good to my eyes (and again, I readily admit that my standards have been grossly lowered by z-movies). His actual design I didn&#39;t really care for (his face just looks... odd) but he emotes so convincingly and sympathetically that I was always intrigued and affected. I also liked the central trio of performances from Bana, Connelly and especially Elliott, who has always been an under-appreciated actor. Bana may seem dull in other movies (I haven&#39;t seen enough of him to really comment), but here his emotional constipation really suits the role. Connelly pulls off her character&#39;s wounded but strong streak well, even if she&#39;s not given much to do. Elliott makes a great hard-as-nails career military man. Honestly, I enjoyed the film so much this go-round that I really wish a more traditional sequel had been attempted. It could have even improved this initial film&#39;s reputation if it were good enough.Johnzilla 2179https://www.blogger.com/profile/03062232221655247960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-60978994416493041722012-12-02T07:22:49.261-06:002012-12-02T07:22:49.261-06:00I fell deeply in love with this movie the first ti...I fell deeply in love with this movie the first time I saw it, in theaters, back in 2003. Nothing has changed (although the always dodgy CGI looks completely awful now)<br /><br />In my mind, it&#39;s still probably a top 5 comic book superhero* movie ever (definitely behind Spider-man 2, which is so clearly the best I see no point in discussing it, and definitely behind Captain America and The Avengers. Probably neck and neck wtih The Dark Knight for 4th.)<br /><br />*Ghost World is the best movie based on a comic book ever, and one of the 10 greatest films ever made, hence the qualifier of &quot;superhero&quot; up there.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546972990126033036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-35551899354751288162012-05-08T22:33:55.477-05:002012-05-08T22:33:55.477-05:00For some reason, I&#39;m very happy that this post...For some reason, I&#39;m very happy that this post has so far collected more comments than my <i>Avengers</i> review. And though I am no lover of the movie, I think it takes a certain maturity and intelligence to appreciate it more than the cartoon, explosion heavy films that replaced it, so I&#39;m glad that I apparently have a unexpected population of <i>Hulk</i> fans here.<br /><br />The Bana thing: I will confess that I&#39;ve never out and out loved him, not even in <i>Munich</i> (I actually think that <i>Funny People</i> is his best work, personally), so maybe it&#39;s just a hang-up of mine. Certainly, his blankness is part of the film&#39;s strategy, just not a part of which I especially approve. I do like him more than Ed Norton.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-18545442966916967862012-05-08T01:16:47.315-05:002012-05-08T01:16:47.315-05:00I didn&#39;t need to wait nine years to know I lov...I didn&#39;t need to wait nine years to know I loved this movie. I saw it when I was just barely starting High School and could not have been happier with it; all these years later, and while I&#39;m more keenly aware of its failings today than I was back then, most notably its inexcusably limp final twenty minutes and the many times where Lee&#39;s &quot;paneling&quot; style simply does not work, I remain firmly in its camp, and indeed consider it a minor point of pride that The Hulk as portrayed here seems to have provided more of a baseline for the Hulk who appears in &quot;The Avengers&quot; than the one &quot;The Avengers&quot; acts as a Sequel for.<br /><br />The two fundamental areas I most disagree with this movie&#39;s many critics are the Hulk effects and the acting. I sincerely love how very much the Hulk of this movie is geared more toward expressiveness than necessarily physical integrity; the stumbling, guileless way it moves, the remarkably effective facial expressions...this Hulk has a lot of character, and for that I happily forgive it any and all other failings. I also think the sequence where we see the Hulk revert to Banner and it is portrayed by showing Bruce literally sweating off the excess mass is just brilliant in the best way.<br /><br />As for the acting, I actually think Bana&#39;s stiff, discomforted style is exactly what the role as written in this movie asks for. The big theme with Bruce, after all, is that he is a man uncomfortable with his own inner self, and I rather think Bana conveys that element better than a traditionally-geared performance might have. I actually think Connelly, meanwhile, does a really good job with a magnificently difficult part. We need to see Betty simultaneously as someone in over her head struggling to make sense of an insane problem, and at the same time we sympathize with the fact that she is the only person willing to understand and respect Bruce&#39;s humanity and history rather than dismiss or manipulate him as just about everyone else does. Connelly sells it, at least for me, and does so very convincingly. Sam Elliot&#39;s General Ross, meanwhile, is just about perfect, and while it does go a little off the rails toward the end, Nick Nolte&#39;s David Banner works equally well as Tortured and Misguided, and Hammy and Evil.<br /><br />To top it all off, I sincerely adore Danny Elfman&#39;s score to this film. The main theme he composes may not be as iconic as John Williams&#39; &quot;Superman&quot; or as gripping as his own &quot;Batman&quot; theme, but its simple melody and rising emotional tenor fits the character so perfectly, especially when it&#39;s used during his Transformation sequences, that I can&#39;t imagine any other theme fitting the Hulk quite so well.<br /><br />So yes, I&#39;m kind of a fan of this film. More so than it objectively deserves? Eh, probably; but I know what I like, and there&#39;s a lot of it for me in this film.Sssonichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08540745505361960873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-30812570748951736042012-05-07T22:19:14.912-05:002012-05-07T22:19:14.912-05:00Is Bana that bad? I thought I read somewhere that ...Is Bana that bad? I thought I read somewhere that it was because of <i>Hulk</i> that Stephen Spielberg picked picked him as the lead in <i>Munich</i>. Maybe he was able to see some hidden potential.Benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14709333325776591295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-49235569856985916342012-05-06T18:30:18.179-05:002012-05-06T18:30:18.179-05:00IMO, Hulk is a masterpiece. And Incredible Hulk is...IMO, Hulk is a masterpiece. And Incredible Hulk is pure trash. So we mostly agree on this. Mostly.Stefan Vlahovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00151965971403882503noreply@blogger.com